Shats, MichaelPunzmann, HorstXia, Hua2015-12-070031-9007http://hdl.handle.net/1885/21977We report the first observation of extreme wave events (rogue waves) in parametrically driven capillary waves. Rogue waves are observed above a certain threshold in forcing. Above this threshold, frequency spectra broaden and develop exponential tails. For the first time we present evidence of strong four-wave coupling in nonlinear waves (high tricoherence), which points to modulation instability as the main mechanism in rogue waves. The generation of rogue waves is identified as the onset of a distinct tail in the probability density function of the wave heights. Their probability is higher than expected from the measured wave background.Keywords: Capillary wave; Exponential tail; Extreme wave events; Frequency spectra; Modulation instabilities; Nonlinear waves; Rogue waves; Wave coupling; Wave heights; Spectroscopy; Probability density function201010.1103/PhysRevLett.104.1045032016-02-24